I can’t believe somebody actually made a cupcake centerpiece! Shelley over at How Does She has a great tutorial on how to make this ever so cute Cupcake and Candle Centerpiece  Thanks Shelley!

Photo Credit:

The Bewildered Gardener

I am still trying to earn my display kit. To make sure I  get credit for your order, please follow these steps

• Click on Look up Host

• Enter my name: Monica Merrill

• Click on link, Monica M, Click continue and have fun shopping!

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need help ordering and Have a most wonderful Day!

Thank you,
Monica Merrill
Your NEW PartyLite Consultant

With just $250 in party sales, you will earn the following:

Contact me: Cupcakesandcandles12@gmail.com for more information or to book your party.

I have been wanting to make a really good lemon cupcake for a while now. I have been doing lots of searching for recipes and decided on trying the Lemon Cream Cupcakes over at Carrot Top Mom.  I did make a couple of  changes to her recipe, I used Sour Cream instead of Yogurt and I also made mini cupcakes. They baked perfectly in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

The cupcake is very moist and quite delicious. I love the texture and even the flavor is very good, but I did feel like the lemon flavor was lacking a little. They remind me of the sour cream cookies my grandma used to make at Christmas time. I am thinking that next time I  may try adding some Lemon Jello to the mix to kick up the lemon flavor and color the cake itself a bit.

Cream Cheese Icing:

I have totally spaced out on where I dug up this recipe for the cream cheese frosting and I am really sorry for that because I like to give credit where credit is due.  Anyway, here is the recipe I used. I left out the meringue powder because I don’t have any here, but I would like to get some and try it because I am curious to see if it really stiffens the icing like the recipe says.

8 oz Cream Cheese

4 Tbsp Butter, Softened

1 Tbsp Sour Cream

2 Tsp Meringue Powder

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Cups Powdered Sugar

In a medium bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy. Beat in sour cream and meringue powder and add vanilla. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until combined and fluffy.

Like the Swirl on my icing? Find out how to do make colorful swirled icing from the tutorial over at Chico and Jo

Side Note:

For those of you that don’t know, I have 4 kiddos in the house. Look what happens when you leave teenagers alone with un-used icing…lol

Before I get started on my nightly routine I thought I would drop a short line. I am planning to make Ree’s Salisbury Steak and Mashed Potatoes for dinner. It will be my first attempt at the recipe and I am very excited to see how it comes out. (Plus, I’m starving!)

A couple of reminders for weeks end:

PartyLite Grand Opening

I am working very hard at getting my own business off of the ground. My first step is to earn my business kit. You can help by simply placing an order and spreading the word! The GREAT news is, the brand new SUMMER catalog has arrived! Plus, there are some AWESOME guest specials during the month of April. Prices are as low as $3 and every little bit helps

Lets get this virtual party started! The aroma of  Two Sisters Gourmet Beer Bread and fine PartyLite fragrance fill the air, all this party needs is you! Come on in and enjoy!

GIVEAWAY! PartyLite Clearly Creative Tea Light Holder!

  I  am offering up this Tea Light Holder for Giveaway. The guidelines and the Entry Form are located here . This is an incredibly versatile piece. You can fill it with anything you want which makes it suitable for any event or occassion! Top it all off with a tea light candle and pull together a beautiful and elegant display. This piece retails for $20.00  and would be a great bonus for anyone interested in entering. I am also offering a votive candle  giveaway as part of the same giveaway, you may want to check that out as well.

The Grand Opening party and the Giveaway will both end on Sunday 4/29/12. Following are instructions for placing an order. It is necessary to follow these steps so that I get credit for your order.

• Click Look Up Host

• Enter my Name, Monica Merrill

• Click Monica M

• Happy Shopping!

  

All I can say to this is YUM-O! I still love the fact that you can eat something that tastes like cookie dough without actually eating raw eggs and with a brownie! This recipe for chocolate chip cookie dough brownie comes from Lori at Recipe Girl and I can’t wait to try them.

I think these would make a great addition to any party (or just to stuff your face)!

OK, so a Steak Bomb from John Smith Subs  is one of my favorite treats.  It has gotten pretty expensive lately so I thought I would try to duplicate the taste at home. I have made a Philly Cheese Steak with sliced roast beef before, but if I was going to do that, I would just go to John Smith Subs and get my Steak Bomb.

I took inspiration for this recipe from Six Sisters Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joe but I did make some of my own changes, so here goes.

Step One:

 Cook ground beef, onions and peppers over medium heat until beef is browned.

Step Two:

While the meat is browning, pre-cook your bacon and let it cool.

Step Three:

  Not everyone in my family will eat mushrooms,

so I browned mine while the meat was cooking.

Drain and set aside when done cooking.

* If everyone you are cooking for enjoys mushrooms,

add them to the beef before cooking with the peppers and onions.

Step Four:

Drain Well

Step Five:

Chop pre-cooked, cooled bacon.

Step Six:

Return meat mixture to pan and top with chopped bacon.

Add 2 cups beef broth.

Simmer on medium low heat until only a little bit of liquid is left.

Step Seven:

Separate meat to make a whole in the middle of the pan exposing the liquid

(I apologize for not taking a picture of this).

Add 1 tbsp corn starch and stir with whisk.

Stir Well.

Sloppy Steak Bomb

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef

2 medium onions

1 large green pepper

1 lb bacon

Mushrooms

2 cups beef broth or stock

1 tbsp corn starch

Provolone Cheese

Mayonnaise

• Cook ground beef, onions, mushrooms, and green peppers over medium heat until meat is browned.
• Drain, return to pan.
• While meat is cooking, pre-cook bacon and set aside to cool.
• Chop bacon and add to meat mixture in pan.
• Add beef broth
• Simmer over medium low heat until almost all liquid is cooked down.
• Make small hole in middle of meat to expose remaining liquid.
• Add 1 tbsp corn starch and stir with whisk.
• Place both sides of bun on cookie sheet or other oven safe pan
• Place provolone cheese on both sides of bun and place under broiler for 2-5 minutes until cheese is melted. Be careful, they will burn quickly.
• Remove buns from oven, spread mayonnaise to your liking.
• Ladle meat mixture over top of bottom bun, place top bun on and enjoy!

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Photo Credit: Smells Like Home

  Photo Credit: Pretty Kitten’s Kitchen

I first came across a “chubby hubby” last week while looking around the Smells Like Home blog of Tara, she calls it an         I heart my Chunky Hubby Cupcake. I was amazed and surprised and couldn’t wait to try the recipe. I am happy to say that by my further surprise  today while perusing pinterest, I found Kristyn of Pretty Kitten’s Kitchen’s Chubby Hubby Bars! I am having a serious chocolate, peanut butter, caramel withdrawal!

I was going to wait until I tried the cupcake recipe to post about it, but now that I have found the bar as well, I couldn’t wait to share the chubby deliciousness.

Review to be posted very soon

Here is another beautiful idea for a centerpiece. There are so many possibilities. I would totally fill these with water and float candles in them in addition to the flowers.  You could even put a pillar in the middle of the vase and surround with flowers. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination